Aussie pudding storms UK food awards

A Newcastle company that makes traditional Australian puddings has been awarded a 'gold standard' at a prestigious UK-based food awards.

Kevin Stubbs, director of the Mayfield-based company Pudding Lane, says the company was awarded a gold standard at the UK Great Taste Awards for its macadamia and brandy pudding, an effort he likened to winning 'a gold Oscar of the foodie world'.

"In the UK and around the world they are the most prestigious award to win," he said.

"For us it's the most amazing thing that we are just so excited about."

Newcastle-based export advisor for the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) Julianne Merriman says the gold standard is akin to 'selling coals to Newcastle' given the UK's affinity with the pudding.

"I believe they have been able to do this because they have known, understood and had a passion for their unique selling proposition," Ms Merriman said.

She said the company's combination of a high value product and market points of difference were in its favour when it came to telling the product's "story to the UK consumer".

Some of those points of difference include a labour-intensive production technique, as opposed to mass production techniques, and environmentally friendly packaging.

The company also demonstrated and marketed its "commitment to social responsibility" by using hand-stitched pudding bags supplied by a local charity, the House With No Steps.

Mr Stubbs said the traditional method was "key" to the company's marketing and production.

"A Christmas pudding or a plum pudding can only be called a plum pudding if it is a boiled in the cloth pudding," Mr Stubbs said.

The boiled in the cloth method is a traditional way of making puddings, and the word "plum" refers to the shape of the pudding rather than its ingredients

"Never in the history of it has there ever been a plum in it," he said. "When it comes out of the coppers, it fits plum in the cloth.

"They're old fashioned words, it's an old fashioned method; it's very labour intensive and you get a really dense pudding, and the pudding itself seals as it's cooked (giving it) a much better shelf life and shelf stability.

"We will never ever change from the way we make our pudding," he said.

According to Austrade the UK is Australia's "fifth largest export destination for food products" accounting for $1.2billion.

Ms Merriman said the practice of using the UK as platform for launching into the European market was an example of the "Kylie Minogue effect".

"Kylie Minogue made it in the UK and she used the UK as a platform then to reach out to broader audiences in Europe and then the rest of the world," she said.

"The UK has a very savvy consumer base - a population that can choose goods, services and products from all around the world.

"You have to be really fantastic to make it in the UK . . . so if you make it in the UK, that's runs on the board as an exporter.

"You can use the UK as a marketing tool really to prove your worth in other markets."

Mr Stubbs praised Austrade for the support it offered to small businesses "emerging into the export market.

"There are a lot of things not known to you (and) Austrade has been able to use their experience (and) contacts within the industry within the market that we're going into."